1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a printing apparatus (simply referred to as printer in the following) for printing cut-sheet type print media, including cards and slips.
"Cards," as the term is used in this text, refers to various kinds of card type paper like that used for checks, validations, etc. Cards are relatively stiff and, therefore, should not be bent on their way into or through the printer. "Slips" on the other hand refers to various types of relatively soft cut-sheet paper which may be transported through a bent paper path. Both cards and slips may either comprise a single sheet or multiple sheets (hereinafter referred to as ply paper, ply cards or ply slips).
2. Description of the Related Art
Printers with many different functions have been developed in recent years and are capable of printing to various types of paper. Printers that can be used for journal printing using roll paper, card printing using cards or slip printing using slips have also been introduced.
Printers capable of printing to ply paper are primarily dot matrix-type impact printers. With this type of printer, the paper is fed through the platen gap, which is the gap between the printer platen and a dot impact print head, and printing is accomplished by means of the print head opposite the paper and an ink ribbon between the print head and the paper.
Printers capable of printing to ply paper are primarily dot matrix-type impact printers. With this type of printer, the paper is fed through the platen gap, which is the gap between the printer platen and a dot impact print head, and printing is accomplished by means of the print head opposite the paper and an ink ribbon between the print head and the paper.